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Microsoft Surface With Windows 8 Pro

Microsoft has kept its promise, give or take an extra week. The firm has announced that the Surface Pro -- the Intel Core i5 and full Windows 8 Pro version of its Surface line -- will launch in the United States and Canada on February 9, 2013.

Microsoft's design language from the Surface RT carries over to the Surface Pro, but internally there are some crucial upgrades. First is the machine's non-ARM architecture, meaning it will run all Windows legacy apps. Unlike Windows RT, the Surface Pro ships with Windows 8 Pro installed, lending it more usability for consumers looking for a true tablet/laptop hybrid.

The Surface Pro will retail beginning at $899 for the 64GB model, and include a Surface pen with technology that ignores accidental palm touches. Consumers will be able to purchase the machine at Microsoftstore.com, Best Buy, Staples, and all Microsoft retail stores.

Microsoft has also expanded retail availability of the original Surface RT to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and select other countries.

I praised the Surface RT for being a wonderful reference design and for boasting one of the best displays on the market. If not for the lackluster software library, it would have become my primary tablet. This is one hurdle the Surface Pro won't be faced with.

Price may be a sticking point for some consumers, however. $899 buys you just the 64GB tablet; another $119 or so nets you the soft Touch Cover or more traditional Type Cover. Consider that you're effectively buying an ultrabook with a detachable tablet, though, and that price becomes much easier to swallow.

That being said, I question Microsoft's decision to not bundle one of the keyboard variants in their Surface Pro SKU. I can't think of a demographic wanting to purchase a standalone tablet for $899, when for just over $1000 the value proposition of an ultrabook/tablet hybrid seems so much more tantalizing. The true utility of the Surface model isn't realized until integrating it with the snap-on keyboards.

Have you been holding out for the Pro over the Surface RT? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.